Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 339,329 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 100.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 675,649 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 339,329 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.87% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $78,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 781 shares of the construction company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 884 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,005 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,298.6% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the construction company's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $149.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMS traded down $6.96 during trading on Thursday, reaching $114.72. 1,154,508 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 647,288. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $184.27. The firm has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The construction company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.06). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 35.79%. Research analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.70%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.